


Ruling families

by Metabird (wheatear)



Series: Essays on power [4]
Category: The Borgias (Showtime TV), The Originals (TV)
Genre: Compare and Contrast, Dysfunctional Family, Gen, Hard Power vs Soft Power, Meta, Nonfiction, Power Dynamics, Ruling Families
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 15:11:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23174884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wheatear/pseuds/Metabird
Summary: What makes the ultimate ruling family? A meta commentary comparing the foundations of power in The Originals and The Borgias.
Series: Essays on power [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1653358
Comments: 6
Kudos: 5
Collections: March Meta Matters Challenge





	Ruling families

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted for the March Meta Matters Challenge.

One of the things I find most interesting about _The Originals_ universe is the fact that **the Originals are the ultimate ruling family**.  
  
To illustrate this, I have to make the inevitable comparison with _The Borgias_ which is another show about a ruling family, and Cesare/Lucrezia is what Klaus/Rebekah might have been on a different network. What do these families have in common? Let's count the ways:  
  
1) An utter disregard for others; they use people as pawns to get what they want  
2) Unhealthy codependent siblings  
3) Their greatest foes and their greatest weaknesses tend to come from within the family (either real or extended)  
4) Family above all  
5) Plotting and scheming, oh my  
6) The wielding of power and political tussles between factions  
  
I love it all. But there is one key difference between them. The Borgia family hold their power because they schemed their way to the top and they do everything possible to maintain that position. Their power is political, and therefore fallible. The power of the Original family comes from the fact that they were the first vampires ever created. It's in their nature; they're literally stronger than anyone else. That doesn't mean they're infallible because this is a supernatural universe and supernatural powers can be gained or lost, but it does make it inherent in a way that the Borgia family's power isn't. It doesn't matter how well the Original family are doing at any particular time, how much political power they wield or don't wield, how many vampires they have following them or how many enemies they have: **they're still the most powerful vampires in the 'verse regardless.**  
  
They're the ruling family even when they're not ruling. In fact, most of the time they're not ruling at all, they're squabbling with each other or with dead family members that keep coming back. The Original family are so powerful they don't actually need to be in power. They can take what they want at any time without having to work to maintain their position, so why bother? This is one of the key differences between [Marcel and Klaus's approach to politics](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23121094). Marcel works at it. Klaus can afford to swoop in.  
  
Klaus can do that because there aren't many characters who are capable of challenging the Originals. The vampire mythology **creates an inherent power imbalance** between characters, and that's where a lot of the richness of the character dynamics comes from as well as so much interesting stuff regarding the relationship between ethics and power. The Originals face various external threats, but ultimately they are held to account only by each other. That's what makes them so fascinating.


End file.
